The CWU - which represents the largest number of dog attack victims in the UK - has today expressed its condolences and deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the 4-month-old dog attack victim who died in Colchester Hospital, Essex today. The savage dog attack also left his 22-month-old brother receiving life changing injuries.
This latest Dog Attack tragedy comes just eight weeks after three-year-old Dexter Neal was killed by an American Bulldog in Halstead, Essex and 52-year-old David Ellam was killed by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier-Labrador Cross in Huddersfield.
The CWU knows more about dog attacks from a victims perspective than any other organisation with 4,000 Postmen and women attacked by dogs every year whilst delivering the mail and parcels.
Two Postmen were nearly killed, delivering the Mail in Sheffield and Cambridge. According to CWU statistical records this is the UK's 35th dog attack death - 19 Children and 16 Adults - with all but 3 of them occurring since 2005 which indicates the steep rise over the last decade.
Dave Joyce, Communication Workers Union national health and safety officer, who spearheaded the union’s successful ‘Bite-Back’ campaign to revise the UK’s dangerous dogs’ laws, said:
"This is yet another tragic loss of life, the third in eight weeks and this is a big concern to our Union."
He added:
“The CWU sends condolences to the family and friends of the young victim, who hasn't had a chance at life, but we've done this on too many occasions now. How bad does this need to get before the UK public wake up to the growing menace of irresponsible owners with out of control and dangerous dogs? They are blighting the UK, maiming and killing people and young children across towns, urban and suburban areas alike.
We now have the laws in place thanks to the Communication Workers Union's seven-year 'Bite-Back' campaign - so the Police and Dog Wardens have the tools to build a battleship but the nation can't even build a raft because of the lack of resources and lack of attention to the issue.
The government needs to focus their attention on tackling the problem of irresponsible, bad dog ownership now or these numbers will just continue to climb. Give the Police and Dog Wardens the resources they need to enforce the law, focus on bad owners, run national education and awareness programmes, review controls, introduce Dog Control Notices and clamp down now or many more children will lose their lives. People are obtaining dogs which they should never have - you may as well give these people a loaded gun and let them play ‘Russian Roulette’."
Dave Joyce added:
"Although our campaign succeeded in changing and toughening up the law and sentences, this latest death, the UK's 35th Dog Attack Death and the 31st since 2005, again highlights the danger posed by dogs and the need to tackle irresponsible ownership.
Whilst a lot of talk centres on the breed of the animal, the problem is 'on the other end of the lead'. How many more lives must be lost before more effective action is taken through adequate resources and controls being put in place. We still get 3,000 to 4,000 attacks on CWU members every year and this must stop.
The breed and type of dog is secondary to the bad ownership problem. Many of these people shouldn't have dogs at all."
The CWU successfully campaigned for changes to the UK's dog control laws through its 'Bite Back' campaign, which was set up in 2008 following near-fatal attacks on two postal workers in Sheffield and Cambridge. CWU's campaign has achieved new Dangerous Dogs Act Laws across the UK.
The CWU campaigned for seven years to get the law changes in Scotland, then Northern Ireland in 2011 and finally in England and Wales in 2014. Over that period, 30,000 postmen and women and hundreds of telecom engineers were attacked by dogs, with many seriously injured.
Some 70 per cent of these attacks on Postal Workers take place on private property where irresponsible owners were previously immune from criminal prosecution. The changes extended the law to apply to everywhere, plus introduced extended police seizure powers and tougher sentences of up to 14 years in jail and unlimited fines. Recently an Essex Dog Owner was fined £8,800 when his dog bit off the fingertips of a Postwoman, signalling a big increase in Fine Levels following new Court Sentencing Guidance from the Sentencing Council.
Dave Joyce concluded:
"More police dog legislation, officer and dog warden resources are needed and an injection of resources into public awareness campaigns and training and ownership controls need examining. We cannot allow this situation of dog attack deaths to continue at the present rate – it’s not acceptable in a civilised society."
Source: Dave Joyce / CWU
